Biden on Tuesday said that if his medical team recommended it, he would be open to enforcing a domestic air travel vaccine mandate for Covid-19.
While on a walk at his residence in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, Biden said that the mandate would occur when he gets “a recommendation from the medical team.”
Fauci, the controversial medical figure who has been leading the federal government’s charge on Covid-19, suggested a domestic air travel mandate to combat the virus.
Fauci told MSNBC, “When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” he said. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”
Biden introduced the executive mandate on mask-wearing in January for public transit which includes mandates for air travel as well. The Department of Transportation has repeatedly extended the mandate.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in July, vowed to introduce legislation repealing the mask mandate required for air travel, as the science behind masking up on airplanes has not been proven effective to stop the spread of Covid-19.
He said that these mandates for mask-wearing on public transit are just a continuation of the “nanny-state.”
The Kentucky senator said in the summer, “In a free county people will evaluate their personal risk factors and are smart enough to ultimately make medical decisions like wearing a mask themselves,” Paul said.
Vaccine mandates have now taken effect in both New York City and the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. The Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments for this administration’s vaccine mandates on Jan. 7 of the new year.